Sealed: Wests Tigers reportedly sign experienced man….
It will be a 2005 Grand Final reunion.
A 2005 Grand Final reunion is said to be in the works at the Wests Tigers, with the club reportedly signing a new assistant coach and head coach of their NSW Cup team.
The arrival of a new assistant and NSW Cup coach comes after former NSW Cup coach Wayne Lambkin departed the club in September this year.
One of the most experienced coaches in rugby league, Lambkin joined the Wests Tigers in 2019, taking over as the club’s Jersey Flegg coach before moving to work for the reserve-grade side in 2022.
His arrival to the Tigers came after he carved a successful coaching path at Westfield Sports High School for two decades, being the head coach of the North Sydney Bears NSW Cup team from 2006 to 2015 and helping guide the Manly Sea Eagles to the U20s title in 2017.
To replace him, the Wests Tigers have reportedly signed Aaron Payne to take on the role of head coach for their NSW Cup team, the Western Suburbs Magpies, and will work under Benji Marshall as an assistant coach at the club, per News Corp.
The former Cowboys icon, who appeared in 219 games for the club, mainly as a hooker between 2002-12, was terminated from his previous job earlier this year.
Having been handed the reigns of Kristian Woolf departed for St Helens RLFC, Payne worked as the head coach of the Townsville Blackhawks for five seasons since 2018, before he was sacked from the role earlier this year.
Payne’s arrival at the Tigers will see him join fellow 2005 Grand Finalists Benji Marshall (head coach), Robbie Farah (assistant coach) and Chris Heighington (assistant coach).
John Morris will also join the coaching staff for next season from the South Sydney Rabbitohs and will work as an assistant coach.
Potential Swap: Tigers in talks for out-of-favour star in shock player swap
The Tigers could be on the verge of landing out of favour Storm centre Justin Olam in a potential player swap.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the swap would see the Tigers acquire Olam while the Storm would get forward Shawn Blore in return.
If completed, this would be the second player swap between these two clubs in three years after Storm hooker Harry Grant was loaned to the Tigers for the 2020 season in return for centre Paul Momirovski.
The news of Olam being shipped around by Melbourne doesn’t come as much as a surprise, considering he was in-and-out of the first grade side and wasn’t selected in the Storm’s qualifying final against the Broncos.
Blore signed a one-year extension last month with the Tigers for 2024, but the club has also re-signed forwards Alex Twal and Alex Seyfarth, creating somewhat of a logjam and making Blore a little bit more expendable.
If a swap gets done, it shapes as being a deal which should be a win-win for both sides.
Blore would add some needed depth to the Storm pack, while a club like the Tigers could most certainly use a player with Olam’s experience and class in their young backline.
